Financial Planning & Analysis - Recent Threads

Bipartisan push for semiconductor credit extension, expansion

Neil Vicente — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 12:34:50 GMT

Senate Finance Committee leadership called for an extension of the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit, which is available to semiconductor manufacturing facilities through 2026. The ask came amid bipartisan and industry efforts to extend and expand the credit.

Section 48D credit basics

IRC § 48D provides for an Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit for semiconductor and semiconductor equipment manufacturing facilities. It is available for qualified property, which includes tangible depreciable or amortizable property that is integral to the operation of the advanced manufacturing facility.

The credit was originally established under the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, which provided a 25% credit for qualified property placed in service after December 31, 2022.

Last year, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act increased the credit to 35% for property that is placed in service after December 31, 2025. However, the OBBB failed to address the § 48D credit’s December 31, 2026, sunset.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

New rules strip the cover off corporate spending — companies have five months to prepare

Nageshwaran Gopal — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 18:43:05 GMT

A wave of new accounting rules is set to crash down on public companies starting in 2027 — and finance chiefs who aren’t already scrambling to prepare could be caught flat-footed, experts warn.

The biggest and broadest change, known as DISE — short for income-statement expense-disaggregation — will hit every single public company in America in about five months, forcing firms to reveal far more detail about where their money actually goes.

The rule kicks in for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2026, which means January 1, 2027, for companies that run on a calendar year. And accounting advisers say the clock is already ticking.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

CBO estimates FY 2026 budget deficit hits $1.4 trillion

Nageshwaran Gopal — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 14:21:52 GMT

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in its latest budget review, now estimates the fiscal year 2026 federal budget deficit reached $1.4 trillion, up from the $1,2 trillion estimate released in its report for May. (Monthly Budget Review: June 2026)

Total receipts for the fiscal year hit $4.151 trillion, an increase of $142 billion compared to last year. Outlays grew to $5.523 trillion, an increase of $178 billion. “Collections of individual income and payroll taxes were larger than a year ago, and changes in tariff rates led to a net increase in collections of customs duties this year,” CBO noted.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

CBO estimates FY 2026 budget deficit hits $1.4 trillion

Nageshwaran Gopal — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 14:21:19 GMT

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

IRS Announces Midyear Increase in Standard Mileage Rates for Business, Medical, and Moving Expense Purposes

Nageshwaran Gopal — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 14:18:27 GMT

The IRS has announced a midyear increase in the standard mileage rates for business and medical use of an automobile, and for deducting moving expenses. For travel on or after July 1, 2026, the business standard mileage rate is 76 cents per mile (up from the original 2026 rate of 72.5 cents per mile). The rate when an automobile is used to obtain medical care—which may be deductible under Code § 213 if it is primarily for, and essential to, the medical care—is 23.5 cents per mile for travel on or after July 1, 2026 (up from 20.5 cents per mile). The rate for deducting automobile expenses that are moving expenses under Code § 217 also increases from 20.5 to 23.5 cents per mile for travel on or after July 1, 2026. Note, however, that the moving expense deduction is available only for certain moves by members of the Armed Forces on active duty and members of the intelligence community). The rate for charitable use of an automobile remains unchanged at 14 cents per mile.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

CFOs warned not to book that tariff refund until the cash is in the bank

Nageshwaran Gopal — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 12:11:57 GMT

Manufacturing companies potentially owed tariff refunds are being told by their accountants to slow down — because recording money that hasn’t arrived yet could create serious problems on the books.

“Unless it’s in your bank account,” companies should be careful about recording the refund, Thomas Alongi, partner at national accounting and advisory firm UHY, said in a June 25, 2026, interview. Alongi, who has spent more than 25 years working with automotive and manufacturing clients, said navigating IEEPA tariff refunds has become one of the most pressing issues he is fielding from CFOs in the manufacturing sector. The warning highlights a problem emerging across the industry: the legal case for refunds may be strong, but the accounting answer is far from settled.

The issue became urgent after the Supreme Court’s ruling struck down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The ruling left importers with the same question: can we put that refund on the books now, or do we wait for actual cash?

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

IRS silence on prediction market winnings to cause confusion as World Cup begins

Nageshwaran Gopal — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 15:21:48 GMT

A sourcing question that turns on a visitor’s status

For a foreign visitor, the first question is whether the activity creates any U.S. tax obligation at all. James Creech, a principal in the specialty tax practice at Baker Tilly, said a fan in the country for the tournament generally would not become a U.S. taxpayer based on time alone, because the substantial presence test requires presence in the United States of 183 days over three years under a set formula.

If the prediction platforms are treated as gambling, Creech said, the income is sourced to the United States. “If you come into the country and you’re doing this because it’s exciting, if it’s gambling and you win a big jackpot, then it’s U.S. sourced income,” he said. A casino-style operator would “withhold 30% to make sure you file a U.S. tax return,” so a visitor who won $1 million might receive $700,000 up front.

The result changes if the platforms qualify as financial products. “Generally, we treat the gains on the sale of financial products as not U.S. sourced, they’re sourced to wherever I’m a resident,” Creech said. Under that treatment, the same win would carry no U.S. tax. “I can make the same bet at the same time in the same location,” he said, but “my tax filing obligations in the U.S. are completely different.”

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

SEC Staff Eye AI Reminders, Not Prescriptive Rules, for Financial Reporting

Nageshwaran Gopal — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 15:16:09 GMT

Public company accountants and auditors have been using artificial intelligence (AI) for financial reporting matters largely without new regulatory requirements. At least for now, the SEC will not step in with prescriptive guidance, given the rapid speed of change.

However, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of the Chief Accountant (OCA), which has been closely monitoring the AI landscape within the financial reporting ecosystem, might put together a set of reminders for the appropriate use of AI, as it introduces a whole new set of risks, such as hallucinations, model drift, biases, lack of explainability around how AI generates outputs, and concerns about the data used by AI.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

What CRM features actually matter for financial services firms operating under FINRA and SEC requirements, and which systems have you found hold up under real regulatory scrutiny without a months-long implementation?

Worksbuddy AI — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 07:36:17 GMT

Our current setup has lead capture, activity logging, and compliance archiving spread across three separate tools. Pulling a full client interaction history for an audit takes far too long and lead response time suffers because routing is still manual.

We did some research and found a useful breakdown of CRM systems for the financial services industry but wanted to hear from practitioners who have actually implemented these under real compliance pressure.

Three things we are specifically trying to solve:

Lead routing that assigns and triggers follow-up in seconds not hours
Timestamped user-attributed activity logs that do not rely on reps remembering to fill in optional fields
Hierarchical contact mapping for multi-stakeholder accounts involving advisors, attorneys, and family members

Has anyone found a system that handles all three without enterprise-level cost and complexity?

From retirement to ROI: Strategies for monetizing your tax firm’s legacy

Nageshwaran Gopal — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 15:27:26 GMT

The market has changed — and so have the rules for maximizing your firm's value.

This white paper helps tax and accounting firm leaders understand what buyers, investors, and successors are really looking for today. You'll learn how to evaluate your firm's readiness and take action before it's too late.

Key takeaways:

What drives firm valuation today (hint — it's not just revenue)
How advisory services, technology, and pricing strategy impact your worth
Monetization paths: private equity, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), and internal succession
Three firm profiles to help you identify where you fit
Questions to pressure-test your business before going to market

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

Workers Hit the Jackpot on Company Stock. Then the Company Went Bankrupt.

Nageshwaran Gopal — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 14:52:26 GMT

A private company’s stock price shot up. Employees who owned shares through the company retirement plan saw a chance to cash out big.

They did.

Then the company landed in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

That episode is now drawing attention from accounting advisers, who are asking whether privately held companies with employee stock ownership plans—ESOPs—should have to give clearer warning about future cash demands when workers redeem their shares.

“No one was aware of the potential of the cash and capital outflow from that situation,” David Pesce, head of surety at Munich Re Specialty Insurance, said at a June 1 meeting of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Private Company Council.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

IRS Finalizes Rules to Ease Partnership Interest Sales Reporting

Nageshwaran Gopal — Mon, 25 May 2026 13:52:15 GMT

The IRS has issued final regs that permanently resolve a longstanding compliance problem by removing the requirement that partnerships furnish complex IRC § 751 gain and loss information to selling partners by January 31, instead aligning that deadline with the due date of the partnership’s Schedule K-1. (T.D. 10048, 5/20/2026)

The final regs adopt, without change, a set of proposed regs (REG-108822-25) that were issued in August 2025. The core of the change is to move the deadline for providing detailed information about a partner’s share of gain or loss from the deemed sale of IRC § 751 property from January 31 to the later due date of the partnership’s Schedule K-1.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

SEC Proposes Optional Semiannual Reporting for Public Companies

Nageshwaran Gopal — Mon, 11 May 2026 16:26:52 GMT

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 5, 2026, issued a rule proposal that would give public companies the option to provide semiannual reports.

The proposal was expected as SEC Chairman Paul Atkins had made it a priority and placed the project on the commission’s fast-track rulemaking agenda last year as part of his goal to “make IPOs great again.” It is also in response to President Trump’s personal recommendation in September 2025 that the SEC revise the reporting rules so that public companies would not be required to report on a quarterly basis.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

Expert Warns ‘Giant Mergers’ Bill Could Affect Mid-Market Deals

Nageshwaran Gopal — Mon, 11 May 2026 16:17:50 GMT

How the Bill Would Change Current Tax Law

Under current law, corporations can often structure acquisitions and reorganizations to be tax-free. IRC § 368 allows for nonrecognition of gain or loss in qualifying reorganizations, such as statutory mergers or stock-for-assets acquisitions. Similarly, IRC § 351 allows for tax-free transfers of property to a corporation in exchange for stock if the transferors are in control of the corporation immediately after.

The proposed legislation would amend both sections. It would deny tax-free treatment for reorganizations under IRC § 368 and for certain property transfers under IRC § 351 if the combined average annual gross receipts of the involved corporations for the three-year period preceding the transaction exceed $500 million.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

House Panel Advances Bill Slashing IRS Enforcement Budget, SEC Funds

Nageshwaran Gopal — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:34:03 GMT

IRS Enforcement Budget Slashed

House Republicans proposed to reduce the IRS’ enforcement budget for fiscal year 2027 to $3.6 billion from nearly $5 billion in the prior year. The Trump administration also proposed a cut, but not as steep — it called for $4.1 billion for enforcement.

The GOP bill’s sharp reduction in enforcement funding was a major point of contention during the committee markup. FSGG Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Steny Hoyer (D-MD) offered an amendment — that ultimately failed — but would have increased the enforcement budget by $1.8 billion. Hoyer argued that starving the agency of enforcement funding is fiscally irresponsible, comparing it to a business that does not collect its accounts receivable. Cutting IRS funding “has a very real fiscal cost,” he said.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

Bessent Defends Proposed $1.4B IRS Budget Cut

Nageshwaran Gopal — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:33:03 GMT

Enforcement Funding Debated

The proposed budget sparked a debate over its impact on tax enforcement. The Trump administration requested $4.1 billion for IRS enforcement for fiscal year 2027, an 18% reduction from fiscal year 2026. The cuts would come as additional funding for the IRS via the Inflation Reduction Act runs dry, after multiple rescissions.

Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI) challenged the reduction, citing the IRS’ own justification that every dollar spent on enforcement yields an $11 return. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) echoed this, arguing the cuts provide a “windfall to very wealthy people” who don’t pay their taxes.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

FDIC Proposes Comprehensive Reporting, Audit Rules for Stablecoin Issuers Under GENIUS Act

Nageshwaran Gopal — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:00:27 GMT

US GAAP Reporting Framework

Under the proposal, PPSIs are required to prepare certain financial information that complies with U.S. GAAP.

For reserve accounting, reserve assets backing outstanding payment stablecoins would be valued at fair value, except for U.S. coins and currency, which would be valued at face value.

The FDIC said it expects reserve assets to be recorded on the PPSI’s balance sheet under U.S. GAAP and included in quarterly reports required under the proposal and in Call Reports for the parent insured depository institution.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

Companies Rush to Market Only to See Deals Falter Over Financial Reporting Gaps

Nageshwaran Gopal — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 14:20:39 GMT

A growing wave of retirement-age business owners is heading for the exit—and private equity firms are knocking harder than ever.

That is pushing more middle-market companies into sale talks, but many founders are discovering too late that buyer interest does not mean they are ready for a transaction, advisers say.

The result is a growing pool of what deal advisers describe as “almost sellable“ businesses—companies with enough growth to attract buyers, but not enough financial and operational discipline to withstand due diligence without risking a lower valuation or a failed deal.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

Sports Betting Tax Hike May Be Fair Game, Analysts Say

Neil Vicente — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 12:53:31 GMT

Sports Betting Booms After Supreme Court Ruling

The sports betting landscape has been completely transformed since 2018, when the Supreme Court’s decision in Murphy v. NCAA struck down a 1992 federal law that had largely prohibited the practice. The ruling “effectively allowed states, any state, to legalize sports betting,” said Andrew Lautz, tax policy director of the Bipartisan Policy Center, leading to what he described to Checkpoint as “absolutely bonkers growth.”

Since that decision, Americans’ sports wagers have skyrocketed from $7 billion in 2018 to $167 billion in 2025, a nearly 24-fold increase, according to Lautz. This explosion has been fueled by technology, with user-friendly apps making it easier than ever to place a bet; of every 20 bets placed in 2024, 19 were online, he said. As of the end of 2024, 38 states and Washington, D.C., had legalized sports betting, with 32 of them taxing the activity, he added.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

Efficiency unlocked: How First Citizens Bank transformed tax operations with ONESOURCE

Nageshwaran Gopal — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 11:55:20 GMT

The need for efficiency in corporate tax compliance

In today’s financial landscape, efficiency and accuracy in tax compliance are critical for large institutions. For First Citizens Bank, managing complex tax obligations across multiple jurisdictions requires tools that reduce manual work and mitigate risk. Compliance is not optional; it’s a cornerstone of trust and stability for a Fortune 500 bank serving diverse clients. Automating tax processes and integrating systems ensures the tax team can meet deadlines, maintain accuracy, and focus on strategic priorities rather than repetitive tasks.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

SEC Order Exempts Certain Foreign Jurisdictions From Executive Stock Ownership Disclosure

Nageshwaran Gopal — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 11:32:23 GMT

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 5, 2026, issued an order granting directors and officers of foreign private issuers (FPIs) in certain locations—including Canada and most European countries—an exemption from the filing requirements of Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This provision requires directors and top executives who own more than 10% of the company’s stock to disclose their ownership and any changes by filing Forms 3, 4, and 5 with the SEC.

Section 16(a) is intended to promote transparency and limit undisclosed insider trading activity.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

Are hidden sales and use tax risks threatening your business agility?

Nageshwaran Gopal — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 11:31:43 GMT

See why manual sales and use tax processes can lead to increased risk and audit threats.

Highlights

Manual sales and use tax processes create hidden risks that threaten business agility and financial stability.
Traditional compliance methods amplify exposure to errors, delays, and regulatory changes across multi-jurisdictional operations.
Intelligent automation and purpose-built technology are essential for proactive risk mitigation and strategic tax leadership.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

The state of bank confirmations in 2026: A strategic outlook for audit excellence

Nageshwaran Gopal — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 15:51:57 GMT

New regulations, rapid digitization, and a shrinking talent pool are converging. Discover how audit firms can turn 2026’s confirmation challenges into a strategic advantage.

Highlights

New PCAOB requirements and digital transformation are reshaping bank confirmation standards and audit processes in 2026.
Electronic confirmation platforms, automation, and AI are now essential for compliance, efficiency, and fraud prevention.
Audit firms must strategically invest in technology to address staffing shortages and maintain competitive positioning.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

OBBB Put Pressure on States to Raise Revenues, Analysts Say

Nageshwaran Gopal — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 14:58:41 GMT

State Budget Challenges

The One Big Beautiful Bill, enacted July 4, 2025, created a pair of interlocking fiscal challenges for states, according to Wesley Tharpe, senior advisor for state tax policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The first challenge comes from the tax portion of the bill, which has begun to “wreak havoc on state revenue systems” due to the technical interactions between federal and state tax codes, a process known as conformity.

States that automatically conform to the federal Tax Code could see their own revenues decline unless they take action to “de-link” from the federal changes. This comes at a time when a broad swath of states have already made costly policy choices, with 26 states cutting either their personal or corporate income tax rates between 2021 and 2025.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.

IRS Falling Behind on Paperless Processing Goals

Nageshwaran Gopal — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 14:35:54 GMT

The IRS has made limited progress in its efforts to digitize tax returns and may struggle to meet a federal mandate for all records to be in a digital format by 2030, according to an agency watchdog.

A February 6 report issued by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) reveals that the agency missed key goals for the 2025 filing season amid staffing and contractor challenges.

To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.